A bi-partisan group of senators sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates today urging a Pentagon-wide investigation of failures in the Defense Department's rapid acquisition system. Senators Kit Bond, Joe Biden, Edward Kennedy and John Rockefeller cite problems in the Marine Corps and the Army on various systems, including delays in the procurement of significant numbers of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) and heightened vehicle protection against Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs). Though they laud the decision by the Pentagon inspector general to investigate delays in the MRAP program, the senators do not believe that review will be broad enough.

POGO and the Government Accountability Project also wrote the Senate Armed Services Committee today and recommended hearings into these issues and into the reprisals taken against Marine Corps science advisor Franz Gayl, who has suffered retaliation for disclosing problems with the Marine Corps' rapid acquisition system.

"These Senators should be commended for exercising their constitutional obligation to oversee the executive branch during this time of war, when hard questions are needed most," stated Nick Schwellenbach, POGO's national security investigator. "The Senate Armed Services Committee needs to take the next step and ratchet up the heat by investigating these issues, so we can avoid these fatal mistakes in the future."

Founded in 1981, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that champions good government reforms. POGO’s investigations into corruption, misconduct, and conflicts of interest achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government.

Founded in 1981, the Project On Government Oversight is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that champions good government reforms. POGO’s investigations into corruption, misconduct, and conflicts of interest achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government.